Beef Special Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Powers of authorised persons

10.—(1) An authorised person may at all reasonable hours and on producing, if so required, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, exercise the powers specified in this regulation for the purposes of—

(a) carrying out any specified control measure, or

(b) ascertaining whether an offence under regulation 14(d) has been or is being committed.

(2) An authorised person may enter any land, other than land used only as a dwelling, which is, or which such person has reasonable cause to believe to be, a holding occupied by, or in the possession of, an applicant.

(3) An authorised person who has entered any land by virtue of paragraph (2) may—

(a) inspect and verify the total area of land, including forage area, farmed by an applicant;

(b) inspect, identify and count any bovine animals on that land;

(c) carry out any other activity which is a specified control measure; and

(d) inspect that land for the purpose of determining whether or not it has been overgrazed or unsuitable supplementary feeding methods have been used on it.

(4) An authorised person entering any land by virtue of this regulation may take with him such other persons as he considers necessary.

(5) An authorised person may—

(a) require an applicant or any employee, servant or agent of an applicant to produce any specified record and to supply such additional information in that person’s possession or under his control relating to an application for beef special premium as the authorised person may reasonably request;

(b) inspect any specified record and, where any specified record is kept by means of a computer, have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with that specified record;

(c) require that copies of, or extracts from, any specified record be produced; and

(d) seize and retain any specified record which he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings under these Regulations and, where any such record is kept by means of a computer, require it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away.